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Show 252 Haley Hoffman THE EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGY USE ON DISTRACTION AND SAFETY IN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT PEDESTRIANS Haley Hoffman (David Strayer) Department of Psychology University of Utah honors college spring 2012 The use of handheld technology in this country has grown at an exponential rate. As a conse-quence younger generations are using these devices, often without the necessary precautions. Past research has shown that technology can divert attention and could potentially pose a threat to the user's safety. This paper explores an effect of this distraction, as well as other potential distractions, on the safety of high school students when using crosswalks before and after school. The results include 93 students who were observed at East High School in Salt Lake City, UT. The presence of the observer was unknown to students in order to obtain naturalistic results. Safety was measured on three dimensions: whether or not the students looked both ways before cross-ing, if the student stopped at the edge of the crosswalk, and a subjective measure of whether or not the student was paying attention while crossing. The overall safety rating scores were compared between students who were talking on the cell phone, texting, listening to an iPod, distracted by a friend, or not distracted at all. Results indicated that any form of distraction while crossing was significantly less safe than when there was no distraction. Results also showed that certain forms of technology were more distracting than others. Exploring this trend is crucial in providing the necessary information and statistics to raise awareness and increase education about safe crossing behavior. David Strayer |